Grace Comes Through Many Hallucinations
by Hananian
Summary: Episode fix for Grace Under Pressure. I just couldn't leave it that way. Rodney's POV. McWeir [[Now with an alternate version. 1 is normal, 2 shippier, but less likely to ever happen.]]
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Grace Under Pressure episode tag/fix. Still own nothing. I've accepted it, you need to too.

Like many, I love AT/Sam Carter. But I couldn't leave this episode alone. As a dedicated McWeir shipper, I decided the writers needed my help. LOL.

* * *

"You're minutes away from hypothermia." Wow. My hallucination was getting awfully blunt as I neared the end. I think she was tired of hanging out with me and wanted it to just be over so she could go back to whatever it was she was doing when I conjured her up.

"I just…I can't tell what's real or what's not." I turned to face the hatch release in defeat. I was cold, I was tired, and my head hurt more than I thought possible while still remaining conscious. Maybe that's it. Maybe I'm really unconscious. Or maybe I already died.

"Rodney." I knew that voice. And that wasn't Sam. I turned back, and there, instead of Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, treading water in front of me, was Doctor Elizabeth Weir: leader of the Atlantis expedition, one of my best friends, and the last person I expected to see down here.

"Umm…'Lizabeth? Why are you here?" Not that I wasn't glad to see her. I mean, if I'm gonna die; as much as I admire Sam, I'd rather Elizabeth's face be the last thing I see. To finally, hopefully get the confirmation that she cared about me as much as I cared about her.

"Rodney, listen to me. I've never lied to you, and I won't lie now. You're going to die if you don't take this chance. And that's unacceptable. They've fought all day to find a way to save you, and I'm not gonna let you give up and die now. So open the stupid hatch, and get out of here while you still can."

I looked at her for a moment longer, trying my best to make sense of everything. "You're not really 'Lizabeth. She's safe on Atlantis." I knew it wasn't her. I would never let her come down here and risk her life, not for me.

Elizabeth sighed. "Of course I'm not really here. You think Colonel Carter was real? You got hit harder than I thought. No. I'm just a hallucination. Apparently your subconscious thinks you'll listen to me better than her now. Either way, Rodney, you've got to trust yourself. Trust your friends."

"I…I can't. 'Lizabeth, I don't know what to believe. Or who to trust."

"Rodney. Let yourself trust. If nothing else, then trust me. You trust me, don't you?" How could she even ask that? Of course I trusted her! She was the only one other than myself I'd trust, and since I didn't even trust myself at that point, she was all that was left.

Some part of me realized that she WAS me in this case, but who was I to argue with a beautiful, and now wet, woman? "Of course I trust you. But…how do I know you're you? Prove you're you. Kiss me."

She looked shocked, then confused, and then shook her head. "I'm not Sam, Rodney. I'm Elizabeth. Me kissing you would neither prove nor disprove anything, and I'm not going to do it anyway. Our first kiss is going to be something we both get to experience." I raised my eyebrow at her refusal and she rolled her eyes. "Rodney, I'll make you a deal. You trust me now. Open the door and let Sheppard in. Then, when you're safe and sound on Atlantis, ask me again. Deal?"

With a reason like THAT to live for, how could I refuse? I nodded decisively at her, then turned back to the panel and pulled the manual release with a silent prayer. And…nothing happened. I realized the problem and immediately pushed off the wall toward the emergency release by the door. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it with all I had. I had to see if my imaginary Elizabeth was an accurate representation of what Elizabeth would really say and do.

As the door opened, the water drained out and I was left lying on the floor of what was almost my final resting place. As Sheppard dragged me out, I looked back to see Elizabeth smiling at me, leaning against the doorway. She nodded and called, "I meant what I said, Rodney. Ask again. You never know what I'll say." With that, she vanished. Darkness began to surround me, and I surrendered willingly.

* * *

An insistent beeping rudely pulled me from the best dream I'd had in a long time, but I kept my eyes resolutely closed tight. Elizabeth was going to be the last thing I ever saw, which to me was the only way to go. If I was still doing to die, I refuse to see anything else and ruin it. The familiar smells of the infirmary assaulted my nose, mixed with a familiar yet subtle perfume. A perfume I knew better than any other smell. I opened my eyes quickly to confirm what my nose told me, and immediately closed them again, trying to clear them away. I reopened them, but nothing changed.

Sitting in a chair less than a foot from my head, was a sleeping Elizabeth. Whether she was real, or my imagination, I didn't know, and didn't care. It was definitely better for her to be the first thing I saw, not just the last. I lay and watched her breathe, and realized my hallucination wouldn't sleep. As that realization hit, I smiled and squeezed the hand I found already clasped in mine.

She woke with a start, looking around for a moment to place her surroundings, and then focused on me. "Rodney! You're awake!" She paused, then said, "You scared me!"

I blinked in surprise. "I didn't do it on purpose. Besides, how do you think I felt?"

She shook her head in exasperation and stood, smiling a bit self-consciously to be caught holding my hand. "I just needed to see for myself that you were okay. You really gave us quite a scare there, Rodney." She started to pull her hand from mine to leave. But I hung on tight. I had a question that I had to ask.

"'Lizabeth. When I was down there…I asked you something. And you told me no. But you also told me to ask again when I was safe and sound up here." She looked at me, clearly confused, since she knew she wasn't there, but on Atlantis the whole time. She opened her mouth refute what I said, but I cut her off.

"I know. You weren't really there. But my mind decided that if I had to go, the only person I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to was you." Her eyes began to shine wetly, but she didn't interrupt, just squeezed my hand again. "So you were there, making me fight. Not letting me give up. And I asked you something. But you said no, to ask you later. So…I'm gonna ask." Amazingly, she let me ramble, and even waited for my question without a word.

"'Lizabeth….will you kiss me?" If she said no, or slapped me, I could always blame it on the concussion. Heck, I could probably get sympathy from her for slapping an injured, obviously delusional man.

She froze for a moment, not even breathing, and my heart sunk. I knew then that Jumper Elizabeth was wrong. The real Elizabeth was repulsed. But suddenly, a huge smile broke out across her face and she leaned close enough for me to see that her eyes had now filled with tears. As she leaned even closer still, she whispered her answer.

"Rodney…I thought you'd never ask.


	2. Alternate GuP Fix

A/N: As I was talking to someone earlier about my fix for GuP, I started thinking of things I wish I'd changed that I didn't. The idea wouldn't leave me alone, but I didn't want to have two ep fixes for the same ep! So I'm adding this as a second chapter, but it's not part of chapter 1. It's an alternate version. Pick whichever you prefer and I hope youenjoy! Just for my own knowledge, let me know which you prefer, please.

* * *

"Colonel Sheppard, I'm going too." 

John Sheppard turned back to Elizabeth Weir in shock. "Excuse me?"

She looked at him, raising her chin determinedly. "I said I'm going in the rescue jumper with you."

He raised an eyebrow. "No, you're not. Your job is to stay here. We can't risk your safety on an experimental rescue. No. You're staying here."

Elizabeth set her jaw and glared at him. "You don't understand. That wasn't a request, Colonel. And as Rodney was on a scientific mission when he went down, this is not a military rescue operation. It is a civilian one, which means I make the final call, and I just made it. I'm going."

John looked at her, and opened his mouth to argue again, to make sure she knew she wasn't going. Before he could say anything, her brave facade crumbled and sheto be fightingtears. She continued, her voice thick. "John. My**job** is to stay here, but this isn't about my job. This is about my friend. Rodney. And I can not sit here twiddling my thumbs while you go off to get him. I need to be there. Please John, don't fight me on this one."

He looked at her for a moment longer and nodded once, defeated. Technically, he could have fought her on this one. With the Daedalus gone, there was no one to replace them if neither of them made it back. But seeing the grin on her face at his nod was enough to make him stick to his agreement. "Alright. We leave in less than 10 minutes. Be in the jumper bay in no more than 5."

She nodded again and dashed off as quickly as possible, abandoning any pretense of decorum or properness.

* * *

As the rescue jumper touched down next to Rodney's and the shield extended around it, John got up andheaded toward the rear hatch. Elizabeth stood up and waited at the door. 

"Elizabeth, where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to see this through. I'm going to get Rodney and bring him home." The stubbornness was back and John, sighed.

"Though it will do no good, I'm officially doing this under protest." He also knew how to cover his own rear in case something happened.

Elizabeth smiledgraciously and nodded. "Duly noted. Now open the door."

* * *

"McKay…what's the holdup? We need to do this sooner rather than later. This shield ain't gonna hold forever." At Sheppard's voice, Rodney spun back around and looked at Sam for the answer. 

"You're minutes away from hypothermia." Wow. The Sam hallucination was getting awfully blunt as the end drew near. Rodney decided she was probably tired of hanging out with him and wanted it to just be over so she could go back to whatever it was she was doing before he conjured her up.

"I just…I can't tell what's real or what's not." He turned to face the hatch release in defeat, not sure anymore what was really real and what was in his head, but unwilling to believe either.

"Rodney." He knew that voice. And that wasn't Sam. Rodney turned back, and there treading water in front of him, instead of Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, was Doctor Elizabeth Weir: leader of the Atlantis expedition, one of his best friends, and the last person he expected to see down there.

"Umm…'Lizabeth? Why are you here? Not that I'm not glad to see you. I mean, if I'm gonna die; as much as I admire Sam, I'd rather your face be the last thing I see." She blushed slightly at his words, and smiled, then quickly grew serious.

"Rodney, listen to me. I've never lied to you, and I won't lie now. You're going to die if you don't take this chance. And that's unacceptable. We've fought all day to find a way to save you, and I'm not gonna let you give up and die now. So open the stupid hatch, and get out of here while you still can."

He looked at her for a moment longer, trying his best to make sense of everything. "You're not really Lizabeth. She's safe on Atlantis. She'd never come down here." Rodney was sure of this. Sheppard would never let her come down there and risk her life.

Elizabeth sighed. "Of course I'm not really here. You think Colonel Carter was real? Goodness, you got hit harder than I thought. No. I'm just a hallucination. Apparently your subconscious thinks you'll listen to me better than her now. Either way, Rodney, you've got to trust yourself. Trust your friends."

"I…I can't. Lizabeth, I don't know what to believe. Or who to trust."

"Rodney. Let yourself trust. If nothing and no one else, then trust me. You trust me, don't you?" _-How could she even ask that? Of courseI trust her!-_ She was the only one other than himself he'd trust, and since he couldn't even trust himself at that point, she was all that was left.

Some part of Rodney realized that she WAS him in this case, but he wasn't going to argue with a beautiful, and now wet, woman, "Of course I trust you. But…how do I know you're you? Prove you're you. Kiss me." His logic made perfect sense in his head, but he realized it didn't come out as clearly as it was in his head.

She looked shocked, then confused, and then shook her head. "I'm not Sam, Rodney. I'm Elizabeth. Me kissing you would neither prove nor disprove anything, and I'm not going to do it anyway. Besides, our first kiss is going to be something we both get to experience." Rodney raised his eyebrow at her refusal and she rolled her eyes. "Rodney, I'll make you a deal. You trust me now. Open the door and let them in. Then, when you're safe and sound on Atlantis, ask me again. You may just be surprised at my answer. Deal?"

Rodney waivered again, still unable to decide, when his headset crackled again. "Rodney? It's Elizabeth. You've got to let us in. We can't open the door ourselves, andI'm not going back without you."

Rodney looked in confusion to the Elizabeth hallucination. "Lizabeth? How did you get out there?"

The hallucinated Elizabeth just smiled. "See? Even Sheppard couldn't keep me away, apparently. Now open the door and let them in and you can ask me your question again. Alright?"

With a reason like THAT to live for, how could he refuse? Rodney nodded decisively at her, then turned back to the panel and pulled the manual release with a silent prayer. And…nothing happened. He immediately pushed off the wall toward the emergency release by the door. He had to get that door open and live so he could see if the imaginary Elizabeth was an accurate representation of what the real Elizabeth would say and do.

As the door opened, the water drained out and Rodney was left lying on the floor of what was almost his final resting place. As Sheppard dragged him out, Elizabeth grabbed his arm to help pull him along. He looked back to see hallucination Elizabeth smiling at him, leaning against the doorway. She looked at the real Elizabeth, and called, "See how worried she is? I meant what I said, Rodney. Ask again." With that, she vanished. Darkness began to surround him, and he surrendered willingly, unknowingly slumping down to rest his head on Elizabeth's lapas Sheppard quickly headedto the pilot's seat to take them home. No one saw the look of relief, mingled with continued worry asElizabeth ran her fingers throughRodney's hair and gently applied pressure to the still bleeding gash on his temple, quietly whispering for him to hold on and stay with them, begging him almost silently not to leave her.

* * *

An insistent beeping rudely pulled him from the best dream he'd had in a long time, but Rodney childishly kept his eyesclosed tight. He had made up his mind that Elizabeth was going to be the last thing he ever saw. If he was going to die, he refused to see anything else and ruin it. The familiar smells of the infirmary assaulted his nose, mixed with a familiar yet subtle perfume. A perfume he knew better than any other smell. His eyes snapped open quickly to confirm what his nose and brain told him, then immediately closed them again, trying to clear then illusion away. He reopened his eyes, but nothing had changed. 

Sitting in a chair less than a foot from Rodney's head, was a sleeping Elizabeth. Whether she was real, or imagination, he didn't know, and didn't care.

_-It's definitely better for her to be the first thing I see, not just the last.- _Rodney decided. He lay and watched her breathe, then suddenly realized a hallucination wouldn't sleep. As that realization hit, he smiled and squeezed the handhe foundclasped in his own.

She woke with a start, looking around for a moment to place her surroundings, and then focused on him. "Rodney! You're awake!" She paused, then said, "You scared me!"

Rodney blinked in surprise. "I didn't do it on purpose. Besides, how do you think I felt? Lizabeth, what the hell were you doing on that jumper? You could have been killed!"

She shook her head in exasperation and stood. "I just needed to see for myself that you were okay. You really gave us quite a scare there, Rodney." She started to pull her hand from his to leave, but he hung on tight. There was a question that he had to ask, and he was gonna ask it.

"Lizabeth. When we were in the jumper down there…I asked you something. And you told me no. But you also told me to ask again when I was safe and sound up here." She looked at him, clearly confused, since she knew she hadn't told him no to anything while down there and had never actually entered the downed jumper. She opened her mouth refute what he'd said, but Rodney cut her off.

"I know. You weren't really in there with me. But my mind decided that if I had to go, the only person I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to was you." Her eyes began to shine wetly, but she didn't interrupt; she just squeezed his hand again. "So you were there, making me fight. Not letting me give up. And I asked you something. But you said no, to ask you later. So…I'm gonna ask." Amazingly, she let him ramble, and even waited for his question without a word.

"'Lizabeth….will you kiss me?" If she said no, or slapped him, he could always blame it on the concussion. _-Heck, I could probably get sympathy from her for slapping an injured, obviously delusional man.- _he decided.

She froze for a moment, not even breathing, and Rodney's heart sunk. He knew then that Jumper Elizabeth was wrong. The real Elizabeth was repulsed. Then, as a tear dripped down her cheek, a huge smile broke out across her face and she leaned closer. As she leaned even closer still, her lips a hair's breadth away, she whispered her answer.

"Rodney…I thought you'd never ask."

As their mouths finally met, Rodney decided he was glad he'd waited. The real thing was better than any hallucination.


End file.
